US2564383A - Spring propelled picker stick motion - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 14, 1951 w. G- TRAUTVETTER SPRING PROPELLED PICKER STICK MOTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 26, 1947 Aug. 14, 1951 w. G. TRAUTVETTER 'SPRING PROPELLED PICKER STICK MOTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 26, 1947 Patented Aug. 14, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Claims.

This invention relates to looms and more particularly to an improved picking motion.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of an improved picking motion for looms in which the picking stick actuating mechanism acts, less abruptly and more smoothly upon the picking stick than do conventional picking stick actuating mechanisms. In conventional looms a leaf spring is used to effect the picking stick motion. In the present invention a relatively long coiled spring is substituted for the leaf spring. Although ordinarily leaf and coil springs are interchangeable and are considered to be the mechanical equivalent of each other, in this case a very striking advantage results from the use of a coil spring in placeof the conventional leaf spring. When the leaf spring acts upon the picking stick in a conventional loom, the picking stick suffers a shock and a strain out of all proportion to the force actually needed to shoot the shuttle across the loom.

When a coil spring is used, however, the action upon the picking stick is smooth and gentle but sufficiently strong to enable it to engage the shuttle with sufficient force to propel the shuttle to the other side of the loom at a very high speed. It is accordingly a corollary object of this invention to provide a picking mechanism which functions at a much greater rate of speed than do conventional picking; mechanisms.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a picking motion in which a single crank mechanism both loads and releases the actuating spring of each picking stick. In conventional looms a crank mechanism is required to put the spring under tension and a second cranking mechanism is required to release the picking stick for the picking motion. It is accordingly a corollary object of this invention to provide a picking motion in which fewer parts are used than in conventional picking motions.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of a braking and locking means for stopping the shuttle. In the present invention this braking mechanism is synchronized with the crank mechanism which loads the spring and releases the picking stick. Not only is it synchrcnized with said crank mechanism, but it is also connected thereto and actuated thereby.

A preferred embodiment of this invention is shown on the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a side view partly in vertical section of the picking motion herein claimed;

Fig. 2 is a front view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of the anchoring means'by which the lower end of the coil spring is anchored to the frame of the loom; and

Fig. 4 is a top view of one of the shuttle boxes showing the shuttle stopping mechanism herein claimed.

The picking stick I!) is pivoted on pin I I whic is supported by a bracket I2 mounted on a rod I3 on frame I4 of theloom. At its upper end the picking stick is provided with a leather I5 and at its lower end with a plate I6 which'constitutes one of the two elements in the looking mechanism by which the picking stick is locked in position preparatory to shooting the shuttle across the loom. The other element in the locking mechanism is a corresponding plate I! which is affixed to arm I8 pivoted to bracket I2 by means of pin I9. A tension spring 20 connects the picking stick I!) with the free or non-pivoted end of arm I8. This spring tends to raise arm II! in the direction of the picking stick and thereby to bring plate I! into locking engagement with'plate I5. It will be noticed that there is an acute angle between the adjacent surfaces of the plates I6 and I1 so that as plate I! is raised it will jam against plate I 6 to more firmly and securely hold the picking stick in cocked position. It will be noted from Fig. 2 that such locking engagement betweenthe two plates may be effected only when the leather or striking end of the picking stick is brought over as far as it will go to the right. The lower end of the picking stick will naturally move to the left and plate I6 will clear plate I! sufficiently to enable plate II to move upwardly in response to the action of spring 20 upon arm I8 into locking engagement with plate I6. A small compression spring 2| serves as a bumper between arm I8 and picking stick .III.

Also mounted on rod I3 is a bracket '25 which serves as an anchor for the lower end of coil spring 26. The upper end of said coil spring is attached by means of an adjusting screw 21 to a lug 28 on the housing of the picking stick Ill. It is by means of this adjusting screw that the tension of said spring may be adjusted. To load the spring the picking stick must be brought over to the right as shown in Fig. 2. When the spring acts upon the picking stick it pulls said stick over to the position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. p

The mechanism by which the picking stick is moved over to the right and the spring 25 placed under tension, includes a rocking arm 30 which is pivoted on pin I I as is the picking stick itself. An upwardly extending portion 3| of rocking arm 30 is positioned to engage the lug 28 of the picking stick. An adjusting screw 32 is provided in said upwardly extending portion to adjust the contact between said upwardly extending portion and the lug 28. A sidewardly extending portion 33 of rocking arm 30 is provided with still another adjusting screw 34 which is positioned to engage the free end of pivoted arm 18. It is this adjusting screw which engages said pivoting arm to cause disengagement between plates 16 and ll of the locking mechanism hereinabove mentioned.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that when the upwardly extending portion 31' of rocking arm 38 is caused to engage lug 28 and to push the picking arm over to the right of pin H and thereby placing spring 2% under tension, the sidewardly extending portion 33 and more particularly the adjusting screw 3% thereof is caused to move out of engagement with pivoted arm l8. Conversely when the rocking arm 39 is pivoted in the opposite direction and adjusting screw 34 is brought into engagement with pivoting arm [3, the upper end of the rocking arm will disengage lug 28 of the picking stick, leaving said picking stick free to move leftwardly in response to the action of spring 25 upon it as soon as locking plates [6 and l? are caused to disengage each other. This of course takes place when rocking arm 38 is pivoted so far to the left as to cause engagement of the adjusting screw 34 with the free end of pivoting arm I8.

The means by which the rocking arm 30 is thus moved about its pivot I i is the crank mechanism more clearly shown in Fig. 1. It will be noted that a link 53 connects the crank arm 41 to the rocking arm 35. The crank arm i! is pivoted on pin 42, and it is provided with an irregular slot 43 which engages the crank pin 45 on crank wheel 45 which is mounted on shaft 46. Close examination of the irregular slot will disclose that it comprises an elongated slot having an offset at one end. The function of the offset will shortly appear. It will be understood that the shaft 46 is driven by conventional means. It will be noted. that the crank wheel d is geared to a second crank wheel 56 and that said crank wheel actuates the shuttle box assembly 5! through link 52. As crank Wheel 45 rotates in the direction of the arrow in Fig. l, the crank arm 49 is caused to engage in a seesaw type of motion thereby alternate; 1y raising and lowering the link 46 and thereby causing reciprocating pivotal movement of the rocking arm 38.

It will be understood that each picking stick is connected to its own crank arm 4| and that there are two picking sticks in the loom and hence two cranking arms 4 I. The second cranking arm is indicated by means of dotted lines in Fig. 1. As the one crank arm actuates the rocking arm 38 to load the spring 26 connected thereto, the offset cranking arm acts in the opposite direction upon its rocking arm 30 to release the picking stick to which it is connected for movement against the shuttle. The mechanism is synchronized so that the spring 26 on one side of the loom is loaded before its corresponding spring on the other side of the .loom is released so that the picking stick on the receiving side of the loom is always ready to shoot the shuttle back to the other side of the loom as soon as the shuttle enters the shuttle box on said receiving side. It is the offset in the irregular slot 43 that adapts the spring loading mechanism to complete the operation of loading the spring before the shuttle enters the shuttle box on the side of the spring being loaded.

The action of the parts thus far described may be summarized as follows, reference being made solely to the single picking motion shown in the drawing, but it will be understood that a corresponding action takes place on the other side of the loom in connection with the picking stick on that side of the loom. The crank arm 4! acts upon the rocking arm as through link 40 causing it to pivot upwardly around pin l l. Projection 3| on rocking arm 30 or its adjusting screw 32 as the case may be, engages lug 28 on the picking stick and causes said picking stick to pivot toward the right. Since lug 28 is connected to the coil spring 25- by means of adjusting screw 27, this movement of the picking stick will have the eiTect of putting the spring under tension. When this operation is complete, the crank arm 4| moves in the opposite direction and causes the rocking arm 38 to pivot leftwardly and downwardly around pin l l. Projection iii of the rocking arm thereby disengages lug 28 of the picking stick and frees the stick for movement around pin i l in response to the action of the loaded spring 26 upon it. This movement, however, is blocked by the engagement of plates l5 and H with each other. As the rocking arm 3i! continues on its downward pivotal movement, its adjusting screw 34 makes contact with the free end of pivoted arm [8 and causes said arm to pivot downwardly on pin it against the tension of spring 20. When the pivoted arm l8 moves a sufficient distance to remove plate I! affixed thereto from engagement with plate l6, the picking stick will be completely freed for pivotal movement about pin l l in response to the action of the loaded spring 26 upon it.

The picking stick leather i5 is thereby brought into striking contact with the shuttle 60 and said shuttle is sent across the loom to the shuttle box on the opposie side thereof. This operation being complete, the crank arm 4! again reverses its movement and the rocking arm 39 is once again pivoted upwardly and toward the right until it engages the lug 28 on the picking stick. As the picking stick is thereby forced to pivot toward the right, its lower end moves to clear the plate I'l. When such clearance is effected, the spring 20 will cause the pivoted arm l8 and hence the plate H amxed to said arm, to pivot upwardly about pin 59 into the position shown in Fig. 2. Plate I7 is now in locking engagement with plate IS on the picking stick and the cycle above described is repeated.

Acting in conjunction with the picking motion hereinabove described, is the shuttle control motion which comprises a swell 65 pivoted to the shuttle box at cs, a leaf spring El which normally urges said swell to move against the shuttle 60, and a locking rod 58 which is adapted to lock the swell in position to engage and stop the shuttle 5 3. Reference to Figs. 1 and 2 will disclose that rod 68 is pivoted to the rocking arm 38 so that each upward movement of the rocking arm is transmitted to the locking bar 68, and each downward movement of the rocking arm is similarly communicated to the locking bar 68. The locking bar 68 extends through a small open ing in the shuttle box, and it is positioned to engage the swell 55. The locking bar 68 .is beveled at the top so that when it is raised by rocking arm 33, it engages the swell 65 and causes it to move into the path of the shuttle. When the locking bar is in its elevated position, it causes the swell to engage and stop the shuttle. When the rocking arm 30 pivots downwardly and pulls the locking bar 68 with it, said locking bar disengages the swell and thereby releases the shuttle for movement toward the shuttle box on the other side of the loom in response to the action of the picking stick thereon. Since the locking bar 68 is pivoted to the rocking arm 30, it will clearly be understood that the action of said locking bar is synchronized with the action of the picking motion.

It will be appreciated that the foregoing describes a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and that modifications and variations may be incorporated therein without doing violence to the principles of the invention. It will be understood that the mechanism herein described and claimed has been designed for use in conjunction with conventional looms so that all that is to be done to a conventional loom to give it the benefits of the present invention is to remove its conventional picking and shuttle control motions and to substitute the picking and shuttle motions hereinabove described. The claimed picking and shuttle control motions will undoubtedly assume a somewhat different form when designed integrally with a new loom and not merely as an adjunct to an old one.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, an oscillatable picking stick, a locking plate thereon, a locking lever adjacent said stick and having a locking plate thereon, a spring on said stick and connected to said lever to urge the lever toward said stick when the stick is in cocked position, the angle between the two locking plates being acute and causing the jamming of the second plate against the first when the stick is in cocked position whereby the stick is held firmly in cocked position until released.

2. In a device of the class described, an oscillatable picking stick, a coiled loading spring having one end connected directly to said stick, means automatically to lock said stick in cocked position, a shuttle engaging swell, a locking bar associated with said swell, and a single cyclically operated bell crank adapted when moved in one direction to move the stick to cocked position and to move said locking bar into abutting relation with said swell to prevent its movement, and when moved in the opposite direction to move said locking bar from its abutting re lation with the swell and to release said sticklocking means.

3. In a device of the class described, a stickoperating bell crank, a pivotally mounted shuttle-engaging swell, a locking bar connected to said bell crank and adapted to be moved into abutting relation to said swell to hold it in shuttle-stopping position when the bell crank is moved in one direction, and to be moved from said abutting relation when the bell crank is moved in the opposite direction.

4. In a device of the class described, an oscillatable picking stick, a coiled loading spring having one end connected directly to said stick, means automatically to lock said stick in cocked position, a shuttle engaging swell, a locking bar associated with said swell, and a single cyclically operated means adapted when moved in one direction to move the stick to cocked position and to move said locking bar into an abutting relation into said swell to prevent its movement, and when moved in the opposite direction to move said locking bar from its abutting relation with the swell and to release said sticklocking means.

5. In a device of the class described, a stick operating means, a pivotally mounted shuttleengaging swell, a locking bar connected to said means and adapted to be moved'into abutting relation to said swell to hold it in shuttle-stop- I ping position when said means is moved in one direction, and to be moved from said abutting relation when said means is moved in the opposite direction.

WILLIAM G. TRAUTVETTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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